Quotes from Oedipus Rex

“To throw away an honest friend is, as it were, to throw your life away”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Fear? What has a man to do with fear? Chance rules our lives, and the future is all unknown. Best live as we may, from day to day.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Time, which sees all things, has found you out.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“How dreadful the knowledge of the truth can be
When there’s no help in truth.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Alas, how terrible is wisdom
when it brings no profit to the man that's wise!
This I knew well, but had forgotten it,
else I would not have come here.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“The tyrant is a child of Pride
Who drinks from his sickening cup
Recklessness and vanity,
Until from his high crest headlong
He plummets to the dust of hope.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“The truth is what I cherish and that's my strength”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Oblivion - what a blessing...for the mind to dwell a world away from pain.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“All my care is you, and all my pleasure yours.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“How terrible-- to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“In time you will know this well: For time, and time alone, will show the just man, though scoundrels are discovered in a day. ”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Let every man in mankind's frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find Life, at his death, a memory without pain.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“...count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Those who jump to conclusions may go wrong.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“The pain we inflict upon ourselves hurt most of all.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Whatever is sought for can be caught, you know, whatever is neglected slips away.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“It's perfect justice: natures like yours are hardest on themselves.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Weep not, everything must have its day.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Never honor the gods in one breath and take the gods for fools the next.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“They are dying, the old oracles sent to Laius, now our masters strike them off the rolls. Nowhere Apollo's golden glory now -- the gods, the gods go down.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“And if you find I've lied, from this day on call the prophet blind.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Give me a life wherever there is an opportunity to live, and better life than was my father's.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“Despite so many ordeals, my advanced age and the nobility of my soul make me conclude that all is well.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“(...) I, for one, prize less
The name of king than deeds of kingly power;
And so would all who learn in wisdom’s school.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“It is but sorrow to be wise when wisdom profits not.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“يا أجيال البشر، إنكم من وجهة نظري لستم سوى أشباح فإن الواحد منكم يحصل على نصيب من السعادة لا يتعدى المظهر الخادع، ثم ما يلبث أن يذبل ويختفي.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“فمن الأفضل لك ،إذا كنت ستواصل حكم هذه المدينة،كما تحكمها الآن، أن تحكمها وهي مليئة بالبشر، لا خالية منهم
فإن أي برج أو سفينة لا يكون له قيمة إذا كان خالياً من البشر الذين يعيشون داخله.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“A sight to touch e’en hatred’s self with pity.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

“King as thou art, free speech at least is mine. To make reply; in this I am thy peer.”
― Sophocles, quote from Oedipus Rex

Video

About the author

Popular quotes

“Listen to me carefully, child. I do not wish to glorify theft. There are people in this world who think they are better than others, deserve more. People who would rob their grandmother of her last coin and laugh as they did it. I have no time for such people. To move quietly, to be quick of hand and eye, that is a gift. If you use it to hurt others, even in a small way, you betray yourself and everyone around you.”
― Lian Tanner, quote from Museum of Thieves

“It's not hard to mess things up.
It's a lot harder to try and put the world back together again.”
― Neil Gaiman, quote from MirrorMask

“I'll see you soon," he whispered, the lump in his throat rising again to jar the release of his sigh. He swallowed once more and said, "But it won't be soon enough.”
― Laury Falter, quote from Reckoning

“There are three requisites for growth without bound, and only three: the will to remake oneself, the genius to survive, and the strength to suffer.”
― David Zindell, quote from The Broken God

“Silly humans. Banging on a tub to make a bear dance when we would move the stars to pity.”
― Michael Cunningham, quote from By Nightfall

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.